After shortened period, Obamacare enrollment for 2018 dips slightly

Dec. 22--Nearly 400,000 Pennsylvanians signed up for insurance through the Affordable Care Act in the shortened six-week enrollment period that ended Dec. 15, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday.

Enrollment for 2018 fell about 7 percent short of the 2017 numbers after federal officials cut the enrollment period in half and slashed funds to the program.

Almost half of the Pennsylvanians who signed up for Obamacare enrolled last week, HHS reported.

Acting state insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman criticized President Donald Trump's funding cuts to Obamacare and praised state insurance officials' efforts to promote the program.

"It's a testament to the public's desire for this health coverage. Pennsylvanians want and deserve affordable health coverage and it's clear that Affordable Care Act continues to provide it for consumers," she said in a prepared statement Thursday.

However, Altman expressed concern that some people did not enroll because of the shortened deadline or Congress' plan to eliminate the individual requirement to buy insurance as well as proposals to repeal parts of Obamacare.

Without a penalty for the uninsured, some young and healthy people likely would drop their insurance plans, leading insurers to raise prices or leave the marketplace, health officials say.

A repeal of the individual mandate would reduce the federal deficit by about $338 billion in the next decade but increase the number of uninsured by 13 million, Congressional Budget Office estimates show.

Nearly 23,000 Lehigh Valley residents are covered under Obamacare and three insurance companies -- Highmark, Capital BlueCross and Geisinger -- offer more than a dozen Obamacare insurance plans in the region.

Bhuang@mcall.com

610-820-6745

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